Indie film ‘Fisting’ changes title after request from festival organizer

Certainly not for many Filipino moviegoers who apparently took offense with an independent film that used the word as its title.

Director Whammy Alcazaren’s film originally titled Fisting now only goes by its much less graphic subtitle Never Tear Us Apart after festival organizer Cinema One Originals requested a title change. This was first announced on the film’s Facebook page on Tuesday.

“‘Never Tear Us Apart’ is the new title of Whammy Alcazaren’s third film as requested by Cinema One Originals,” the statement reads.

This pushed the film’s team to stop using social media accounts made for the movie and take down other promotional materials with the former title.

Right now, their Facebook page’s profile and cover photos are just plain white.

According to the statement, Alcazaren was willing to change the title because the film is much more than just that.

“We are doing these necessary steps so that we can continue the dialogue we wanted to have with the audience through our film,” the statement reads.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), the agency that rates films, has also flagged the film’s producers for its title. Apparently, the film’s producers did not submit the publicity materials for review.

The MTRCB also noted in a memorandum that all publicity materials for films must be suitable for a general audience.

However, during a press conference on Tuesday, Alcazaren said that they were not forced by Cinema One to change the film’s title, Rappler reported. “[It was] a mutual understanding,” he said.

Never Tear Us Apart is a family drama about an aging spy who discovers that his wife was impregnated by a monster called The Shadow.

Like its original title, the film’s trailer is very out of the box. The scenes were shot vertically (Think: Instagram Stories) but still have very cinematically-composed scenes with much attention placed on colors and lighting.

Cinema One Originals is an annual film festival organized by Cinema One, a cable channel owned by ABS-CBN that airs Filipino movies. Here’s a rundown of other films to be showcased in the event.